Picture Perfect
by Rainb0wNinja
Summary: Natsu remembers his life with Gray, and mourns the loss of his lover. Very sad, sad oneshot. Spoliers for recent manga. Rated T for language and character death. Better than summary.


***Sigh...* For those who have read the manga, you're probably as depressed as I am right now. Now while I highly doubt Gray is actually dead, there's still a voice in the back of my mind saying otherwise. I mean...come on, you saw it. He got shot in the freakin head! And the heart too! Among other places. So am I worried? Uh, yeah, I'm pretty freaked out right now. But since I'm currently obsessed with this song, I happened to listen to it shortly after reading the latest chapter, and my brain came up with this incredibly sad story. This is also the first sad story I've ever done that doesn't end happily. And it's ALSO my first Gratsu. This is definitely not how I wanted my first time writing this couple to be! Damn you Mashima! If you don't bring back the sexiest person and my favorite person, you'll be on my list.**

**Disclaimer: God, I wish I owned Fairy Tail. Gray would be alive and with Natsu.**

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Since that day.. it's hard to believe we won the magic games and defeated all of those dragons and Rogue. I can still remember how the guild stayed up all night partying. Heh, those guys sure are crazy, huh?" A single figure stood alone, a mere silhouette against the setting sun. His white scarf brushed across his shoulder as a breeze passed through, also rustling the branches of a dead tree. The figure's previous smile vanished suddenly as he gazed down at the slab of stone in front of him.

"But it wasn't the same without you..." He added quietly.

_You lived your life like you were on fire but how can I dance,  
__When your soul just lifted me higher and higher and higher,  
__Paint bleeds, ink runs, image of your love,  
__Your memory, our history,_

"Why did you have to go?" He whispered, his voice threatening to break. "When I realized what happened...when Juvia told me...it was too late. You we're already gone. It's been four years...I still can't believe you're gone. You've been with me since I joined Fairy Tail...remember those days?"

_A young Natsu walked down an empty dirt road, looking at the river that ran next to him. It was late afternoon, and he had just finished meeting everyone in his new guild, Fairy Tail. They seemed...rowdy. But Natsu liked rowdy. Everyone there seemed friendly though and he could tell they would all get along with him. He felt like family already. Although, there was one person who gave him a bad vibe._

_That damn little stripper, Gray Fullbuster._

_The little droopy eyed brat just rubbed him the wrong way. He couldn't wait to just beat the living daylights out of him. That would be his rival, he was sure._

_"Oi, flame head!" As if on cue, that annoying voice pierced Natsu's ears, making him turn around with a scowl. The black haired ice mage had his fists clenched at his sides, his shirt nowhere to be seen. Natsu rolled his eyes._

_"What do you want, ice block?" He ground out irritably. Gray furrowed his brows at the nickname and Natsu's tone._

_"What do you think you're doing here? I walk this way every day, it's my territory. You're ruining it with your flame breath."_

_"Your territory? I don't think so, droopy eyes! It's a free country, I can walk wherever I want! And if you don't like it, let's see you do something about it!" Natsu yelled, getting into a fighting stance._

_"Fine, I will!" Gray also yelled, and the two ran at each other, simultaneously punching each other in the face. They would later return to the guild, covered in dirt and bruises, yet everyday they would walk down that dirt road in hope of having another fight._

"Erza never did find out...that was our spot to just go all out, wasn't it?" He asked, even though he knew it would go unanswered. "God, I miss you...it's just not fair. We we're finally starting to become...something more. After all of the confusion we went through. You remember when Erza made us shower together and I caught you staring at me? Man, I don't think she'll ever forget how red you got. But then, the same thing happened to me. It only got worse as we got older, ne?"

_I'd give up my eyes, to see you one last time,  
__And I'd give all my fingertips to touch you,  
__And I could paint you picture perfect even if I were blinded,  
__But you had to die, for me to see how to live._

_It was sometime before the magic games, and the guild was it's usual loud self. Gray had said something to tick Natsu off and the two were fighting, yelling insults and destroying anything in their path. One of those things happened to be Erza's cake. The redhead had gotten so angry, that after she thoroughly kicked their asses she locked them in a closet. The two were too scared to come out. Needless to say, a lot of things happened in that closet._

_"Ugh, get off me, stupid flame brain!" Gray growled, shoving Natsu a whole foot away. The closet was a bit...small._

_"Watch it, stupid icicle! If we make too much noise she'll come back! And don't touch me, your hands are too cold." Natsu said, rubbing the spot where Gray's hands had been to warm it up._

_"Oh yeah? Well yours are too warm!"_

_"Is that a challenge?"_

_"How the hell is that a challenge? You really are stupid, aren't you?"_

_"I'm not stupid! You're stupid, ice for brains!"_

_"BE QUIET IN THERE BEFORE I COME MAKE YOU!" Erza's angry voice yelled, making the two boys jump and hug each other for safety. Realizing their position, and that Gray's shirt was somehow gone now, the two quickly untangled themselves from each other._

_"Slanty eyes." Gray muttered._

_"Droopy eyes." Natsu muttered back. They glared at each other._

_"Flame breath."_

_"Exhibitionist."_

_"You like it."_

_"I— wait, WHAT?!" Natsu shrieked, his face erupting in a blush._

_"Shhh, idiot! She'll kill us!" Gray hissed, putting a finger to his lips._

_"Then don't say weird stuff like that!" Natsu said, his voice dropping to a whisper._

_"What, it's the truth. That's why you would always stare at me in the shower when we were little."_

_"You did the same thing!" Natsu said, his face getting redder._

_"Yeah, but you did it more. Just admit it, you like it."_

_"Fuck you! I'll admit it when you admit that you stared at me more than I stared at you!"_

_"Alright, so what if I did?" Gray said, his voice calm and his face serious. Natsu could only stare at him incredulously._

_"W-what the hell has gotten into you?" Natsu asked, suddenly becoming very aware of how close they were._

_"Ah ah, I admitted it, so now it's your turn. Admit that you like it when I strip." Gray said, already in the process of unzipping his pants. Natsu felt his face go pale. He had seen Gray undress before. Hell, he had seen the boy walk around completely naked before. So then why did it suddenly bother him so much? Was it because they were in such a small place? Or that Gray was acting so weird?_

_"L-like hell I'll admit it! Put your pants back on! G-gray! Don't look at me like that! What are you...stay away from me!" Natsu was starting to panic. Gray was giving him the most serious look he had ever seen, but something in his stunning blue eyes was different. And he was also taking steps closer to Natsu._

_"Natsu." Gray said, his voice deeper than usual. It sent shivers down Natsu's spine and goosebumps spread over his skin._

_"W-what?" Natsu said, his back pressed firmly against the wall._

_"You're blushing." Gray responded simply, his lips turning up into a smirk._

_"Because you're acting so weird! There's no room in here and you're just making it worse! And you're practically naked! So of course I'm blushing, you damn strip—mmph!?" Natsu was effectively cut off as Gray pressed his lips against Natsu's, his hands reaching up to sift through his pink hair. Instead of pushing the ice mage away and beating him to a pulp, Natsu found that he couldn't move. His legs felt like jelly and his stomach was doing flips. Not to mention his rapidly beating heart. He felt his eyes flutter, and then he felt himself kiss back. Gray smirked at this, having known the boy would give in. He knew Natsu had a crush on him, even if the pinkette didn't know it himself yet. And Gray would be lying if he said he didn't feel the same._

_"G-gray..?" Natsu said, slightly breathless._

_"Natsu." Gray responded, looking into his soon to be lovers eyes._

_"I...I do like it when you strip.." Natsu said, looking away in embarrassment. Gray chuckled, stroking his cheek affectionately._

_"I know you do, idiot. Now shut up and kiss me."_

_The two would later get caught lying naked in a broom closet by Erza, and then the entire guild would find out that the two who were nearly always fighting were now a couple. But neither of them were embarrassed. They just laughed, held hands, and whispered in each others ears "I love you."_

"I've never seen Erza so speechless before." Natsu chuckled, but it soon died, his eyes watering. "She's doing alright, you know. Her and Jellal finally got together. She's five months pregnant. Man, she's even more scary now, what with the hormones. Bisca and Alzack are still going strong. Their little girls gotten so big. Even Romeo's gotten older, he's in his teens now. I think he likes Wendy. Everyone's doing just fine...they all miss you though. Juvia...she still cries. She feels like its her fault. I remember at first, she thought I hated her. But I never blamed it on her. You chose to protect her, which is just something you would do." His lip trembled, but he refused to break down.

"She told me...how you died. She said it all happened in slow motion for her. She said...that shots just kept getting fired, and that it was like some horror movie. And then...one went right through your skull...and that was it. You were gone. There were so many holes in your body...I wish I could forget seeing it..." A tear spilled over one of his eyes, sliding down his cheek and falling down to the dirt below him.

_I live my life hiding in shadows but now I can see,  
__Cause your soul is lifting me higher and higher and higher,  
__Paint bleeds, I can't breathe, need you here with me,  
__Close my eyes I can feel you close,  
__Why did you have to go?_

"It's just not the same without you.._I'm_ not the same. I haven't gone on missions since then...I haven't been in our room...I've barely used any magic. I just think about you all the time. Sometimes I feel like you're right there, right next to me, but when I look you're not there. It's just...not _fair_! Everyone has someone! Erza and Jellal, Wendy and Romeo, Bisca and Alzack, Happy and Carla, Elfman and Evergreen, Gajeel and Levy! Even Juvia moved on and got with Lyon! But my somebodies buried in the ground! It's just...not fucking fair! I _miss_ you!" He shouted, falling to his knees. Memories of Gray kept running through his mind. All of the times they shared, good or bad, Natsu remembered all of them.

_I give up my eyes, to see you one last time,  
__And I'd give all my fingertips to touch you,  
__And I could paint you picture perfect even if I were blinded,  
__But you had to die, for me to see how to live._

"Erza...she always tells me that everything will be alright...and that you're in a better place. She says...I'll see you again someday when I die...But it doesn't make me feel better, because you're still gone. She says it's no ones fault...and I know it's not, but life isn't the same without you! I don't understand..how the world can keep going on without you, but I can't!"

_Angels fall, it's not your fault,  
__Time goes on without you,  
__Goodbye old friend, we'll meet again,  
__Life goes on without you,  
__But why did you have to go?_

"I love you...I love you so much! Every day I wish you could be here, and I could just hold you tight and tell how how much I love you, like we used to do. It's driving me crazy not being able to touch you, and to see you! I'm losing my mind, damnit! I can't go on for the rest of my life without you! _Why_...why can't you just come back to me? I need you here, damnit! I _need_ you..." Natsu sobbed, hands gripping the flat stone in front of him. His blurry vision scanned over the fairy tail mark, the 'rest in peace', the 'we will never forget,' and the name permanently engraved at the top.

'Gray Fullbuster'

Natsu sobbed more, his broken heart shattering into smaller pieces.

"I want to see you smile again...to hear you laugh...to feel you against me, fighting or not. Your life was too short...you died too young...one second you were here, and the next...you were gone. But the worst part is...I never...I never..." He struggled to breathe properly, his body only wanted to shake and constrict painfully. He took a ragged deep breath, his fingers burying themselves in the dirt.

"I never got to say goodbye!"

_I'd give up my eyes, to see you one last time,  
__And I'd give all my fingertips to touch you,  
__And I could paint you picture perfect even if I were blinded,  
__But you had to die, for me to see how to live._

Natsu continued sobbing brokenly until the sun disappeared and Erza came out to get him, being used to the routine. She left flowers at his gravestone, helping Natsu up and saying comforting words, guiding him back inside. She would turn around, a sad look on her face, taking one last look at the lone grave that belonged to her dearest friend.

"See you tomorrow, Gray." She whispered. And she would see him tomorrow, to retrieve Natsu once again.

Just as she had been doing for the past four years.

**Ugh :( So depressed right now. If Gray doesn't come back...I give up on Fairy Tail. That's all there is to it. Because you can't kill off someone like Gray. Anywho, review if you too are sad. And if this made you sadder, well, join the club.**


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